New and Old

It was so sweet. This 85 year old man was just cooing and awing over his wife as she laid in the hospital bed in my unit. She was there for certain reasons and he was admitted to a floor so he could qualify for a nursing home admission since family was not in this state anymore. She had dementia and would just lay in the hospital bed moving and looking around the room, not really registering anything. An aid would bring him down in a wheelchair to visit his wife. The only person he could recognize because he had Alzheimer's. He sat there almost half of the shift. He would lean over and kiss her, comb her hair back, whisper words to her. She would look up at him. It was heartbreaking-ly intimate. It was so sweet. It is what I am excited for. To have that love forever. Through anything and everything.

Meet "What The"

So I was at a baby shower today for one of my good nursing friends. Her nursery theme is sea life, aquariums, fish, blues and greens. Things like that. On every table was a tall, cylindrical candle holder that was magically turned into...a FISH BOWL! Its really cute with pretty sparkly stones in the bottom and a pretty little blue-silvery fish. So anyways, we play the typical shower games and I find out that a prize can be a grab bag or one of the fish bowls!! So, I put my whole heart into guessing the baby parts that only have three letters (arm, eye, leg, toes etc....), I put my nose into the diaper to guess the melted candy bar. I used my sense of touch and critical thinking to guess the baby object in the paper bag. LUCKILY, I utilized the help of my fellow friend because I helped her with the baby parts. So, between me and her we guess all eight objects correctly. I get to pick a prize. Of course being me and never making any sense, I pick the fish! I've never had a fish. I always wanted either a goldfish or a bunny from the fair but I was never allowed to play those games. Probably for good reason because who wants gross fair animals that would probably bite the big one as soon as you get home? So I decided I would name the fish the first words that came out of Iasse's mouth when I showed him what I won! So now the fish is named "What the..."

Cookie Coma

Cookie delightfulness is here......
Creamy Lemonades with just the slightest hint of tangy frosting amidst the tender shortbread cookie. Chewy delightfully sweet Caramel DeLites. Oh yes....I am in pure cookie Heaven. Soft spoken, melt-in-your-mouth Shortbreads. Wow. WOW. And less we forget the sweet and buttery old time favorite: Peanut Butter Sandwiches. I think I have been in a diabetic coma at least twice this week. It was and IS well worth it for it is cookie time. Girl Scout Cookie time. I find it very ironic that it coincides with swim suit buying season...

Lunar Eclipse of the Mind

They say it was a total lunar eclipse of the moon but I really think it was a total eclipse of the mind. I say this because I happened to be working my second 12 hour shift of this week during this momentous celestial event. Now, Urban legends always say that working during a full moon at a hospital is when the new Gates of Hades open. I believe it has opened on the CCU. Especially last night because not only was it a full moon but it was a LUNAR ECLIPSE. LUNAR ECLIPSE my friends. I have been wondering why it has been so c-r-a-z-y on the unit this year so far. I get it now. It has been boiling and bubbling and churning and swelling and growing so the intense craziness could peak last night. Between my little ol' PCI patient who slept all night (THANK the Lord) and my other patient who kept yelling out "Jean...JEAN....close the screen door Jean!" it has just been absolutely nuts for EVERYONE. Some worse than others but not really good all the way around.
I am a total believer that since we are 90% water why wouldn't the moon and it's shift on the tides affect the average person? Especially someone who is chemically impaired (think mental/synoptic problems). Why wouldn't they have problems with their water balance? Hence the reason why the ER will fill up with the crazies on full moons. It is because their bodily water has shifted someplace it shouldn't be. My fiance begs to differ saying we don't have free liquid floating around like oceans. Well, I beg to differ his beg to differ. We are made of cells, cells have some space that is filled with...with what....fluid. This is just my theory but come to my unit when there is another full moon and tell me otherwise.

Mr. Home

I was so excited to get a sewing machine for my birthday. It is a pristine white simple Singer complete with a starchy white carrying case, assorted threads, and needles. Less I forget my Simplicity's Simply The Best Sewing Book which I have skipped through to the ultra important beginners chapters about loving your sewing machine, thread tensions, and how-to-read-a-pattern. I am excited. EXCITED. I have completed reading my Singer's instruction manual and anxiously await to begin my first project. I have sat my machine up on my dining room table, caressed the smooth plastic top, placed the foot control ever so slightly diagonal for ultimate maneuverability and functionality. I am ready. READY. But obviously, someone else was ready before me...

The Festival of Fowls

Yes. I feel that I have been inspired enough to finally write my first blog that is not associated with myspace or facebook. It feels pretty good to have a grown up blogger (might I add). I have been hesitant due to the fact that I do know a few people (actually only one person) that absolutely EXCEL at blogging. Those who will remain nameless (coughcorbycough), I hope that this will feed your need for something to of mine to read. Let the creative juices flow.
This Thanksgiving was a great one. Every year seems better than the last but they do keep getting better as I age. My fiance's father flew up from DC to spend the holiday with my crazy family. Luckily, he is immune to my intermediate family's dispositions but put the rest of the family in the mix? Priceless. He handled it well. I had worked my three nights in a row and drove home Wednesday morn to the excitement of last minutes fixings. Consequently, I was too overstimulated to sleep my usual 8 hour recovery and only got 3 hours. I was awoken to the feeling of being spooned oby two cats and two cousins cuddling with me in my bed. Inside my head I was screaming angry outbursts and grumpy tantrums to be left alone but I guess it was time to wake up and get ready.
Downstairs I go to the sight of my mother getting the turkey ready. She has been feeling ill lately so she was not her usual put together self but she was a trooper that day. But, sometimes things did not end up right. She decided it was a good idea to cut the plastic cooking bag that the fowl was in then transfer the bag and bird to a platter. But, if you cut the bag, the juices will leak out. This was not a foreshadowed event in our minds as we watched the events unfold. The bag cut, the turkey bag moved, the juices flowing out at great, niagral speeds on the counter and floor, my mom doing a small hopping like step backwards, then a split then sliding the floor and landing (strange enough, Softly) on her bum. This was the beginning of the festival of fowls for 2007.